Just~One~Donna

The calendar says it's time for soup.  Italian minestrone soup is a flavorful, hearty choice to make today. Wintery weather in the Northeast cries out for the comfort of hot soup.  This minestrone soup is my go-to soup recipe and my family's favorite soup.  I try to change our soup options often by introducing a new soup, but this one remains my family's top choice.   Classic Minestrone Soup This post contains affiliate links.  When you shop using these links we receive a small compensation. Minestrone soup is hearty enough to stand on its own with some crusty bread, or when paired with a sandwich or panini of your choice.  

Winter soup season is upon us and one of my favorite soups is this version of Italian Wedding Soup, made with cheese tortellini and frozen Italian meatballs.  It can be made with absolutely minimal effort by choosing prepared ingredients from the grocery store.   Assemble the ingredients, and in approximately 40 minutes you will have a hearty, delicious soup.   This is the number one requested soup in my family, so I am confident your family will love it as well. A Quick, Hearty Soup Made with Tortellini and Meatballs When I'm in a hurry to make this soup I make it completely with store-bought prepared ingredients including frozen meatballs. It is quick and delicious. You'll love how easy this soup is to make.

Do you want to know how to make a tasty soup? You CAN make a delicious soup once you understand the basics.  Making vegetable soup is a great way to perfect your soup skills. This recipe shows you just how simple soup can be.  Easy Vegetable Soup Three Keys to Making the Best Vegetable Soup There are three keys to making a delicious vegetable soup. 1. Use fresh, flavorful ingredients 2. Taste as you go 3. Focus on the broth When you are making a vegetable soup the veggies are the star .  That means you want to use delicious tasting vegetables.  A combination of multiple kinds of vegetables will give you a breadth of natural flavors that infuse the broth and meld together nicely. This recipe uses frozen mixed vegetables for a quick and easy soup. Your favorite fresh vegetables will work, too. You also don't want to overcook your soup .  A flavorful soup does not need to cook for hours on your stove.  This is actually a quick soup to ma

Is soup your jam in winter? Through the fall and winter months, I like to make a big pot of soup at least once a week.  We'll have it for dinner and then for lunches until it is gone.  Today's recipe for Spicy Italian Sausage Soup is one of those hearty soups that will be perfect with a piece of crusty bread for dipping. Italian Sausage Soup to Spice Up Your Life This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience.   Serve Up Spicy Italian Sausage Soup This soup is a flavorful and hearty Italian-inspired dish that combines the rich flavors of sweet and hot Italian sausages with fresh vegetables like red pepper, celery, onion, potatoes, and kale. It's simmered in a savory chicken stock and seasoned with Italian herbs for a deliciously satisfying meal.

I'm a soup lover and during the winter months, I make soup about once a week.  This red lentil soup recipe has been in the rotation this winter and this year I've been loving it with the addition of sausage.  Winter is the perfect time for hearty, warming soups, and this red lentil and sausage soup is no exception. Lentils are a fantastic source of fiber and protein, and when combined with spicy Italian sausage, they create a delicious, comforting dish that will satisfy your cravings and warm you up on even the coldest of days. Hearty Red Lentil and Sausage Soup This post contains affiliate links. When you shop using these links we receive a small compensation. Hearty Red Lentil and Sausage Soup This red lentil and sausage soup is a delicious and nutritious meal that is perfect for the cold winter months. It's easy to make, and the addition of spicy Italian sausage adds a depth of flavor that will satisfy even the pickiest eaters. So grab a bowl, and a slice

Do you love butternut squash soup? Butternut squash soup is usually the first soup I make as the weather turns chilly here in New England. I love it.  I love the color of butternut squash soup.  It screams fall to me.  I love the texture of butternut squash soup because it is perfect for dipping a slice of warm crusty bread.  Most of all, I love that this soup is easy to make. Today's recipe makes a butternut squash soup with a little heat.  The heat comes from the addition of jalapeno peppers as one of the vegetables in the soup.  I use two jalapeno peppers when I make this soup.  Use only one if you want just a hint of heat.  Yes, you can leave the jalapeno peppers out of the soup altogether and still have a yummy soup. Butternut Squash Soup with Jalapeno Peppers This post includes affiliate links.  When you shop using these links we receive a small compensation. Butternut Squash Soup This butternut squash soup is one of the easiest soups you'll ever make.   T

This month I'm focusing on healthy foods and today's recipe for Spinach and Kale Soup fits perfectly.  I don't like to throw food out.  It just seems wasteful.  So, when I looked in my refrigerator last weekend and saw some kale and spinach that were calling out to be used, I decided to make a soup.  Have I told you I love soup? A Flavorful Spinach and Kale Vegetable Soup This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.  I am compensated when you shop using these links.   Spinach and Kale Soup  Winter can be challenging when shopping the produce department for fresh vegetables.  Spinach and kale always seem to be in abundant supply in winter and look fresh and appetizing.  This is compared to the other vegetables I prefer like green beans, zucchini, and asparagus.

Sometimes you just need chicken noodle soup. Here in the Northeast, we've had weeks and weeks of bitterly cold weather.  A blizzard this week left us with piles of snow and frigid temperatures with wind chills below zero.   On top of that, we've had coughs and sniffles that just won't quit.  It's miserable.  That means it is a perfect time for hearty soups like this homemade chicken noodle soup. Hearty Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Hearty Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup The best chicken noodle soup is made with just a few ingredients.   The base flavor comes from carrots, onion, celery, and chicken stock.  You'll want to be sure you are using the best, most flavorful ingredients you can find to make this hearty homemade chicken soup from scratch.

If you enjoy corn chowder and a little spicy heat, you will love this kicked up chicken corn chowder recipe.  The addition of some cooked chicken turns this soup into a main dish that is perfect for a casual weekend or weeknight dinner. A Yummy, Spicy Corn Chowder with Chicken This post contains affiliate links.  If you make a purchase through these links I will receive a small compensation that supports this blog. Kicked Up Chicken Corn Chowder This is a perfect recipe for rotisserie chicken.  If you are like me, you have a rotisserie chicken in your fridge right now.

Hubby was telling me about a yummy tomato soup he had recently. When I replied by saying how much I loved tomato soup, he just laughed because he knew I loved  every kind of soup.  So, I must be more specific when I talk about the soups I like.  For example, when I think about all the soups I like with beef as the base flavor, this beef barley soup is my favorite. Slow Cooker Beef Barley Soup  Beef  Barley Soup I always make this soup when I have some leftover roast beef in my refrigerator.  Soup is a great choice when you are scratching your head about what to do with perfectly good leftovers. A little bit of this and a bunch of that, combined with a tasty broth, will make a satisfying and filling dinner for your family. This beef barley soup was made in my six-quart slow cooker, but it can just as easily be made in a pot on your stove. Just adjust your cooking times to the method you choose. One of the benefits of the slow cooker method is the extended length of tim

It has been a while since I have shared a soup recipe with you.  If you are a regular reader, you know that soup is a favorite on the dinner menu in the Just One Donna house.  We really enjoy a bowl of steaming, hot soup and a slice of crusty bread when the winter temperatures drop and the wind is howling outside.  This Chorizo Sausage and Kale Soup is comfort food at its best.  It is flavorful and filling.  As an added benefit, your bowl will be chock full of good-for-you vegetables. Chorizo Sausage and Kale Soup-Perfect for Winter Chorizo Sausage and Kale Soup I made this yummy soup with the odds and ends of vegetables I had in my refrigerator and freezer, and I hope you will do the same.  As I was making the soup, I couldn't help thinking about the story, Stone Soup .  It was a favorite of mine when I was a kid.  The stars of this soup are the kale and the chorizo sausage, but feel free to add whatever vegetables your family likes best.  The more vegetables you add th

Butternut squash soup is one of my favorite fall and winter soups.  It actually may be my favorite soup of all, but sometimes I think my favorite soup is whatever I am eating that day.   Over the years I've made multiple versions of butternut squash soup.  The one I favor often depends on the ingredients I have on hand, the weather, or how much effort I am wanting to expend.   Today I'm sharing my three favorite versions of butternut squash soup.  The first is quick and easy, the second is spicy, and the third is decadent. Butternut Squash Soup Three Ways #1 Easy Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup Some of my recipes for butternut squash soup take a little time to make but there are those days when I am just too busy for my usual butternut squash soup preparation.   This recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup is perfect for those days when you are in a hurry and crave butternut squash soup! Easy Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup Quick: This

This corn chowder is a perfect kick-off to soup season. As the seasons shift and the weather turns cooler, there's one dish that always manages to bring warmth and comfort to the table – a steaming bowl of creamy corn chowder. It amuses me that as soon as I flip the calendar from August to September each year my cravings for soup begin.  This year is no different from any other because soup has been on my brain since the first of September.   How to Make Corn Chowder in Your Slow Cooker (I include affiliate links to products for your shopping convenience.  Purchases you make through these links help to support this blog.  Thank You) What if I told you there's a way to elevate this beloved classic to a whole new level of corny goodness? Enter our Slow Cooker Corn Chowder recipe, where we take the essence of corn and infuse it into every spoonful by cooking it with the cobs for hours on end.

Seafood Gumbo The other day I had the urge to make a seafood soup.  My son had been asking for a seafood soup for several weeks and at last I felt like making one.  I didn't want to make a traditional New England seafood chowder because I was in the mood for a soup with some kicked up flavor.   I did some Internet surfing and settled on a seafood gumbo as my target soup. I bet you are a lot like me.  You get an idea in your head about something you want to eat and then look for recipes that you think will deliver.  In this case, I just wanted a flavorful seafood soup.  To me, that meant I wanted lots of herbs and spices.  A gumbo delivers on this combination; the amounts and mix of spices are those that I thought my family would like.  If you decide to make this soup, I encourage you to adjust the seasonings based on what you know your family likes, as well.  That means you should feel free to add a little more of this, while perhaps holding back on a little more of that.  Do

Cream of Mushroom Soup If you are a fan of mushrooms you are most likely a fan of mushroom soup as well.  No, not the kind of mushroom soup that comes in a can, but the kind you make lovingly yourself.  It's a special treat. Do you think it is hard to make cream of mushroom soup?  Not at all.  It's actually a pretty quick soup to whip together and takes just a few simple ingredients. The star of the soup, of course, is the mushrooms.  I used a mixture of white button mushrooms and baby bellas, the small version of portabellas.  You can use whatever you have on hand or even use a fancy wild mushroom mix.  Whatever you choose, it is going to be good.  Trust me. Gather together your cast of characters.  You'll want to be sure you have a little sherry on hand.  No, you can not use cooking sherry.  I'm sorry if I'm sounding a little bossy here, but this, my friends is the secret love ingredient.  Sure, you can leave it out, but it just won't be as good as it

Kielbasa Soup Winter finally came to town here in southern New England and with temperatures in the teens I start looking around for soups that will warm our insides.  This kielbasa soup is inspired by a recipe from Leen's Lodge, in Grand Lake Stream, Maine .  Grand Lake Stream is a very tiny town in the Down East Region of Maine known for its excellent fishing and hunting.  I told you a bit about Grand Lake Stream after I visited there last summer.  Leen's Lodge is one of the camps where hunters, fishermen and other outdoors types can find accommodations.  Leen's Lodge serves hearty meals and this soup is one of their specialties.  The recipe I am sharing with you today was inspired by Leen's original recipe, but I have taken some liberties with the ingredients.  You'll find this recipe makes enough for multiple meals or a large group and is perfect for freezing.  I started the recipe on the stove top and finished it in my crock pot, but you can easily make